A Requiem For Ricket

Blanche (aka Ricket) and sister Linda are the workhorses of the Ffestiniog, big enough to handle all but the heaviest trains but more economical to run the the Double Fairlies.  Ten years ago my interest in the Ffestiniog was reawakened by the Hunslet Hundred Gala, celebrating the return of Blanche to service after a volunteer led overhaul, just in time to celebrate her centenary.

Time passes and the tenth anniversary of that gala is necessarily commemorated by the expiry of Blanche's ten year boiler certificate, in fact the end of the road for the boiler.  Time for a new boiler and another overhaul, so to keep her memory green I have found a selection of photographs taken during the last ten years.

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Happy Birthday! Blanche stands in front of her sister at the Hunslet Hundred Gala (02/05/1993)
Happy Birthday! Blanche stands in front of her sister at the Hunslet Hundred Gala
1993118.jpg   74.20 Kb

‘Blanche’ stands in the loop at Porthmadog Harbour station (07/05/1995)
‘Blanche’ stands in the loop at Porthmadog Harbour station
1995072.jpg   72.91 Kb

‘Blanche’ heads uphill out of Penrhyn with ‘C’ set (01/09/1995)
‘Blanche’ heads uphill out of Penrhyn with ‘C’ set
1995255.jpg   66.23 Kb

‘Blanche’ at the Cob end of the loop at Porthmadog Harbour station, waiting to leave light engine (01/09/1995)
‘Blanche’ at the Cob end of the loop at Porthmadog Harbour station, waiting to leave light engine
1995271.jpg   53.24 Kb

‘Blanche’ leaves the loop at Porthmadog while running round (21/09/1996)
‘Blanche’ leaves the loop at Porthmadog while running round
1996147.jpg   74.53 Kb

‘Blanche’ pulls away from Porthmadog Harbour station with an afternoon train (21/09/1996)
‘Blanche’ pulls away from Porthmadog Harbour station with an afternoon train
1996148.jpg   69.73 Kb

Keeping the children happy, ‘Blanche the worried engine’ at Minffordd during a Thomas the Tank-Engine weekend! (28/09/1996)
Keeping the children happy, ‘Blanche the worried engine’ at Minffordd during a Thomas the Tank-Engine weekend!
1996214.jpg   73.93 Kb

‘Linda’ and ‘Blanche’ storm round Dduallt Tank Curve with an up train during a gloomy 1997 gala (03/05/1997)
‘Linda’ and ‘Blanche’ storm round Dduallt Tank Curve with an up train during a gloomy 1997 gala
1997053.jpg   51.45 Kb

‘Blanche’ leads ‘Mountaineer’ over the original route at Rhoslyn Bridge, Dduallt, and off along the Deviation (04/05/1997)
‘Blanche’ leads ‘Mountaineer’ over the original route at Rhoslyn Bridge, Dduallt, and off along the Deviation
1997066.jpg   53.88 Kb

‘Blanche’ leads ‘Mountaineer’ towards Rhoslyn Bridge, Dduallt (04/05/1997)
‘Blanche’ leads ‘Mountaineer’ towards Rhoslyn Bridge, Dduallt
1997064.jpg   34.10 Kb

‘Blanche’ emerges from the cutting into Dduallt station with the 1997 Gala's very early first train of the day (05/05/1997)
‘Blanche’ emerges from the cutting into Dduallt station with the 1997 Gala's very early first train of the day
1997076.jpg   73.21 Kb
You can help put Blanche back on the rails, see the Ricket Rescue web site
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